Abstract

BECERRA-PENA, Diana L.  and  LEMOS MEJIA, María Ximena. The Productivity of the Manufacturing Sector: The Case of Colombia 2005-2016. Rev. mex. econ. finanz [online]. 2021, vol.16, n.4, e527.  Epub June 06, 2022. ISSN 2448-6795.  https://doi.org/10.21919/remef.v16i4.527.

The objective of this work is to empirically analyze the evolution of total factor productivity (TFP) in the Colombian manufacturing industry from 2005 to 2016, through the estimation of the Malmquist Index (MI), with a panel of twenty-nine productive sub-sectors. The results show an average fall in the TFP of Colombian manufacturing of 1.1%, derived from a setback in the technological component. It is recommended for policy makers to promote the use of Information and Communication Technologies, as well as technological innovations. The limitation found corresponds to the lack of disaggregated information at the company level for all economic units in the sector during the analysis period. The originality of the research lies in the monitoring of changes in manufacturing productivity and their decomposition into efficiency and technology over time. In conclusion, during the study period an early de-industrialization of the manufacturing sector can be seen, where the components of efficiency and technology were not in the same direction.

Keywords : total factor productivity; Malmquist Index; manufacturing sector; manufacturing industry; Colombia.